Breaking Twilight
by Sasha Kirkle
Summary: What would happen if Edward had died in 1918 like he was supposed to? Here, Bella had already jumped off the cliff and was rescued by Jacob, except this time, Alice will NOT see it because she and Bella never had the opportunity to become friends.
1. Baby Steps

I lay listlessly on the sofa while I waited for him. Billy was silent in the other room. I felt like a peeping tom, peering through the cracks at a private sorrow that wasn't mine.

I didn't take Jake long. The roar of my truck's engine broke the silence before I expected it. He helped me up from the couch without speaking, keeping his arm around my shoulder when the cold air outside made me shiver. He took the driver's seat without asking, and then pulled me next to his side to keep his arm tight around me. I leaned my head against his chest.

"How will you get home?" I asked.

"I'm not going home. We still haven't caught the bloodsucker, remember?"

My next shudder had nothing to do with cold.

It was a quiet ride after that. The cold air had woken me up. My mind was alert, and it was working very hard and very fast.

What if? What was the right thing to do?

I couldn't imagine my life without Jacob now-I cringed away from the idea of even trying to imagine that. Somehow, he'd become essential to my survival. But to leave things the way they were...was that cruel, as Mike had accused?

I remembered wishing that Jacob were my brother. I realized now that all I really wanted was a claim on him. It didn't feel brotherly when he held me like this. It just felt nice-warm and comforting and familiar. Safe. Jacob was a safe harbor.

I could stake a claim. I had that much within my power.

I'd have to tell him everything, I knew that. It was the only way to be fair. I'd have to explain it right, so that he'd know I wasn't settling, that he was much too good for me. He already knew I was broken, that part wouldn't surprise him, but he'd need to know the extent of it. I'd even have to admit that I was crazy-explain about the voices I heard. He'd need to know everything before he made a decision.

But, even as I recognized that necessity, I knew he would take me in spite of it all. He wouldn't even pause to think it through.

I would have to commit to this-commit as much of me as there was left, every one of the broken pieces. It was the only way to be fair to him. Would I? Could I?

Would it be so wrong to try to make Jacob happy? Even if the love I felt for him was no more than a weak echo of what I was capable of, even if my heart was far away, wandering and grieving after my deceased Romeo, would it be so very wrong?

Jacob stopped the truck in front of my dark house, cutting the engine so it was suddenly silent. Like so many other times, he seemed to be in tune with my thoughts now.

He threw his other arm around me, crushing me against his chest, binding me to him. Again, this felt nice. Almost like being a whole person again.

I thought he would be thinking of Harry, but then he spoke, and his tone was apologetic, "Sorry. I know you don't feel exactly the same way I do, Bells. I swear I don't mind. I just so glad you're okay that I could sing-and that's something no one wants to hear." He laughed his throaty laugh in my ear.

My breathing kicked up a notch, sanding the walls of my throat.

Wouldn't Zachary, indifferent as he was now, want me to be as happy as was possible under the circumstances? Wouldn't enough emotion linger within me for me to get that much? I thought it should. He wouldn't begrudge me this: giving just a small bit of the love he didn't take to my friend Jacob. After all, it wasn't the same love at all.

Jake pressed his warm cheek against the top of my hair.

If I turned my face to the side-if I pressed my lips against his bare shoulder...I knew without any doubt exactly what would follow. It would be very easy. There would be no need for explanations tonight.

But could I do it? Could I betray my absent heart to save my pathetic life?

Butterflies assaulted my stomach as I thought about turning my head.

And then, as clearly as if I were in immediate danger, Zachary's velvet voice whispered in my ear.

"Be happy," he told me.

I froze.

Jacob felt me stiffen and released me automatically, reaching for the door.

_Wait_, I wanted to say. _Just a minute_. But I was still locked in place, listening to the echo of Zachary's voice in my head.

Storm-cooled air blew through the cab of the truck, urging me to look towards Jacob from now on.

"Wait," I said, "Just a minute."

He let go of the door handle and looked into my eyes, "What is it? I thought you wanted me to go?"

"No. I-" I didn't know where to start. "I love you."

"I already knew that."

"No," how could I make him understand? "I really love you." I looked down at my hands.

In another demonstration of seeming to be on the same brainwave, Jake reached towards me, and gently grabbed my chin, forcing me to look back into his eyes. "I love you, too," he finally said.

He started to lean in for a kiss, but I turned away. It was too soon. It was too wrong. I had a million excuses to delay this inevitable moment.

I opened the passenger door and began to walk towards the house. Why was it so hard to give my heart to Jacob? Zachary was dead. I'd watched him die, though I wasn't the cause of it. Cliff diving. His buddies had thought it would be cool to play Truth or Dare. They had noticed that the Quileutes made it look so easy...easy enough to where anyone could do it. Even months after watching him fall, I still couldn't bear to be alone. I had tried to join him in order to end the voices and delusions, but I did not die.

I was saved by Jacob.

I owed him my life, so why was it so hard to give him my love?

I unlocked the front door and went straight upstairs to my bedroom. Without bothering to change my clothes, I fell onto my bed and was asleep before my head hit the pillow. It was another dreamless night. I was glad for it, though I did wonder why. I credited it to almost giving Jacob the very thing I owed him and that made me almost happy again. I always had fewer nightmares when Jake was around.


	2. First Kisses

I awoke the next morning with a massive headache. It felt like a hangover. My head was pounding, and, for the first time, my heart was, too. I pressed my hand to my chest and felt it beat healthy and strong. I smiled for what felt like the first time in years. I found some pain killers and took two. My headache was muted, but it would be awhile before it finally faded away.

I knew why it had come.

I had given Jacob my heart yesterday, but I was too far gone to realize it. I needed to see him, even if it meant encountering his wolf form.

I needed to finish what I had started.

I needed to kiss him.

And I needed to do it today.

I got ready for school like any other day, and attended even though my thoughts were far away wandering across the reservation. Thinking so hard about Jake, I was, that I almost wrote his name on top of one of my papers. I quickly refocused and tried, with a futile effort, to block him from my mind. But no matter what I did, he kept wandering back in.

Last period, I watched the clock like a hawk watching a field mouse. The second hand seemed to crawl, and it would take years for the minute hand to move one more notch. My legs were twitchy, and I could barely keep my seat.

I needed to get out.

When the bell rang at long last, rather than racing out of there like I was so fully prepared to do, it seemed rather difficult to even stand. After painfully waiting nearly an entire day for this, now I seemed to dread it. All my fears and doubts came rushing back.

What should I do? What should I say? He doesn't know that I still miss Zack and see and hear him even when I'm awake. He'll need to know everything.

Later that night, while I was quietly scratching away at my homework after scrounging up a meal for one, I heard someone knock at the door. I intended to leave at eight o'clock for Jake, so whoever it was would need to make it quick.

I headed downstairs and opened the door.

"Jake!"

"Bella!"

"I was just about to come over and see you!"

"I wanted to save you the trouble."

"Yeah, right, like you actually knew what I was going to do."

He looked at me feigning shame. I pushed him playfully away and, without asking, he walked inside and made himself comfortable on the couch. I simply followed, my heart racing, but my mind and body moving slowly with careful calculations. I had to do this perfectly.

"Jake," I started, "about last night..."

"I know, I know. I shouldn't've pushed it. I'm sorry. We still friends?"

I was amazed at how perceptive he was. "Of course," I replied. _But I want to be so much more than that_, I finished in my head.

He didn't catch that thought. I was both grateful and disappointed at the same time.

"So what brings you to these parts?" I asked.

"You."

"Well, I kinda figured that part out. I mean-"

"I couldn't stop thinking about you last night. Bella, I love you, but I don't think we can be friends anymore."

"What do you mean?" I'd already learned all I needed to know about wolves and vampires, what was keeping us apart now?

"I just don't feel the same about you as I used to. It's almost like- like I'm grown up, and you're grown up. I don't feel like a friend, or a brother to you. I feel- I don't know- more."

I swallowed a snigger at his effort to talk about his feelings, but despite his struggle, the meaning was clear: He was falling in love with me.

I liked it this way.

I wanted to reach over and hug him, but how? How do I do it without seeming like I just wanna feel him up? Then, I knew.

"Jake?"

"What? What is it?" The extraordinarily handsome wolf in front of me was nervous. How cute.

"Can we, at least, have one last hug...as friends?"

I could see his struggle. Swallow his romantic feelings for a few seconds? It almost seemed impossible. I began to brace for another wave of disappointment. I broke eye contact and began to form an apology in my head, one that would make it all better, but before I could open my mouth, Jake wrapped me up in one of his fabulous bear hugs.

I would've hugged him back, if it weren't for, "Can't- breathe-"

"Sorry, Bells," he said as he released me.

I inhaled deeply, my lungs desperate for the air that had been crushed out of me.

I looked back into his eyes and saw that he was sorry for more than one thing. That wasn't fair. I had so much more to be sorry for.

I finally began to talk, "Listen, Jake. There's some things you gotta know about me before we do this. I mean, I'm not your ordinary, everyday kind of girl."

"I know."

"I'm still getting over Zachary."

"I know."

I went on to tell him what I was going through, why I had been so listless for months, my hallucinations, everything. I watched his expression change as I began to pour myself out to him. First it was curious, then it was worried, and, as I came to a close, it appeared accepting. I had predicted this, and was prepared for the confusing battle inside me; part of me never wanted to get over Zack, the other part desperately wanted to allow Jacob to enter my life.

Confused about what I wanted, I began to cry.

Jake looked worried again, and wrapped me up in another bear hug, but not as tight this time. He turned his head ever so slowly, and proceeded to kiss me on the forehead.

Not yet ready to give myself completely away, I turned to give him a kiss on the cheek.

I felt like a child, avoiding his lips like they would be the end of my world.

Jake pulled away, and held my face in his hands and looked into my eyes with such intensity, I feared that I would burst into flames.

I closed my eyes, my resolve approaching faster than I wanted it to.

"I can't give you what you want. It would be so hard for me to just forget him," I finally said.

"I'm not asking you to completely give him up. What makes you think I would expect you to get over something like that?"

My eyes opened, "Then what are you asking?"

"I just want you to open your heart up to let me in, too," Jake's intensity lowered, revealing just how deep his love went for me.

I couldn't delay this any longer for my end had finally met me.

Jacob must've somehow heard the conclusion that my heart had reached because there was no further thought. He'd moved swiftly and began kissing me the same way that Zachary would never be able to ever again. It broke my heart, how similar they both were and I tried to push him away, but something inside me was saying, _No, don't ruin this._

As soon as that thought finished, it gave way to all the feelings I'd kept pent up. Suddenly the hands that so desperately needed some time to think, wanted to pull him closer his lips glued to mine, my brain disconnected from my body, and I was finally kissing him back. Against all reason, my lips were moving with his in strange, confusing ways they'd never moved before – because he wasn't Zack, he was Jacob. My hands rested on his powerful pecs, but instead of pushing him away, they were simply exploring, discovering what to look forward to if this progressed any further.

He was everywhere, yet some tiny piece of my brain retained its sanity and screamed questions at me.

Why wasn't I stopping this? I still missed Zachary as if he'd died yesterday. Worse than that, why couldn't I find in myself even the desire to _want_ to stop? What did it mean that I didn't want _him_ to stop? That my hands clung to his shoulders, and liked that they were wide and strong? That his hands pulled me tighter than Zack had ever held me, and yet it was not tight enough for me?

The questions were stupid, because I knew the answer: I'd already moved on.

All this time I thought my heart had wanted Zack back more than anything and I never knew that it had already moved on. I needed Jacob now and this kiss only enforced that fact.


	3. Victoria's Still Here

Jacob's lips were still before mine were. I opened my eyes and he was staring at me with wonder and elation.

"I have to leave," he whispered.

"No."

He smiled, pleased by my response. "I won't be long," he promised. "But one thing first..."

He bent to kiss me again, and there was no reason to resist. What would be the point?

This time was different. His hands were soft on my face and his lips were gentle, unexpectedly hesitant. It was brief, and very, very sweet.

His arms curled around me, and he hugged me securely while he whispered in my ear.

"_That_ should have been our first kiss. Better late than never."

Against his chest, where he couldn't see, tears of joy welled up and spilled over.

"Ah, Bells, I said I wasn't going to be long. I just have to meet up with the pack for an hour or so."

"I'm n-not s-sad," I stammered, "I'm so h-happy that I f-found you."

"Oh."

"D-don't stay on my account."

"Don't worry, I'll be back before ya know it."

We hugged one last time and I watched him leave my house and transform into a wolf with one paw still in the doorway.

I waved at his retreating form and closed the door to keep my thoughts from escaping.

The tears cascaded down my face without any intention of stopping. I didn't mind. I needed this. I needed to release all that Zachary's death had been forcing me to hold back.

Jake was right, I'd never completely be over him, but that was okay. I would be okay.

I went back up to my room and checked my calendar; it was Saturday and I had no plans.

I wanted to see him again. But where does he go when he's a wolf? I shook my head. _Take it slow_, I reminded myself. _Don't ruin this_.

I lay on my bed daydreaming about what Jacob would bring that Zack could no longer.

I saw myself in a new family with Charlie and Renée mixed in with Billy and Sam. I saw my future pass me by and when it slowed again, I saw how the wedding would be; wolves and non-wolves would all attend. I would beam with the joy of a new bride. My daydream fast-forwarded again and bobbing heads of two small, black-haired children ran away from me into the familiar forest. I saw myself sitting in a great house, having room for all Jacob's pack members. Fragile as I was, they would always watch over me until the day my life had to end. Until I got too old and would wither away. I saw him giving up his life as a wolf and joining me soon after.

I opened my eyes and heard footsteps downstairs. Lost in my thoughts, I'd forgotten about Charlie. There was no dinner for him. I hurried downstairs developing the necessary apology on the way.

"Bella?"

It wasn't Charlie. Where was he anyway?

"Jake, hi. I was expecting someone else."

"Your dad, I hope."

"Of course, do you know where he is?"

"He's down at the station working on the so-called "serial killers" case of Seattle."

"Oh, right."

Jacob took this momentary silence as an opportunity and rushed over to hug me, gentler this time. After admitting our feelings for each other, he seemed to want to do it right, though I'm not sure why. I like his goofy self just as much as his romantic self.

"I knocked," he said into my hair, "but no one answered."

"Yeah," I blushed, knowing exactly why I hadn't heard the door, "I was kinda busy."

"Well, did I call it or what?"

"Call what?"

"I said I'd be back before long. We just had to regroup. We lost Victoria's trail, but it's alright now."

I cringed at her name. It brought back so many awful memories.

I was only minding my own business when that tracker, James, found my scent. Of course, being only human and only barely knowing about the magical world that surrounded me, I had no hope of fighting him off. That's when the wolves descended on him and killed him. As it would turn out, he was Victoria's mate and she sought revenge on me.

Why me? It was his fault that he died. Well, actually, if I'm being honest with myself, it was the wolves' fault, yet Victoria hunted _me_. It was later discovered that she killed the object of James tracking rather than those who killed him. Why? Who knew? And now, she was still out there, trying to find a hole in the wolves' defense system, trying to get to me.

And all the while, developing an army in the hopes she could one day kill all the wolves and finally kill me.

I hugged Jacob tighter and hoped that the images would dissolve in his shirt, but when I closed my eyes, they only got more vivid having nothing to distract them now.

"I'm sorry," said Jacob, "Did I say something wrong?"

"I know you guys are trying to keep me safe, but I can't help it. I'm still so scared."

"It's okay, Bells. She can't get through. Lord, she is trying, but our defenses are just too great a match."

Hard as I tried, I just couldn't repress the image of the vampire with the fiery red hair.

"Can you spend the night tonight?" I asked.

"Anything for you, Bella."


	4. Ambush

I hugged him in my sleep and my dreams had finally become exactly that: wonderful, normal dreams.

I woke up early the next morning and, to my dismay, Jacob was already gone. He'd left a note on my night stand that read, "Dearest Bella, I've gone back to the pack to further refine our plans. Meet up with me on La Push beach this afternoon? Love, Jake."

I imagined him in wolf form patrolling the Quileute border alongside Leah. He was so fast, but she was always faster. I felt safe, so safe in fact, that I fell back asleep and pretended that Jacob was my guardian angel.

It was strange. Knowing that Jacob could imprint at any time, yet I felt no fear about when. I knew that he loved me, and this blinded me to the fact that he could leave me for his soul mate at any moment.

I pulled my blankets around me tighter, pretending they were Jacob's body. I smiled in my sleep and quickly fell into a deeper, more restful slumber.

I awoke a few hours later quite rested and began to make some breakfast. I saw Charlie asleep on the couch._ Jacob wasn't kidding_, I thought as I recalled how he told me it was going to be a late night at the station.

I tried to be as quiet as possible as I looked for some cereal to go with my bowl. I winced as I stepped on one of the creakiest boards in the kitchen. Charlie mumbled in his sleep and promptly woke up.

"Huh? Where...?"

I stayed still hoping that he'd go back to sleep; I was sure he needed it. He didn't think so.

"Bella?"

"Hey, Dad."

"What time is it?"

"Nine o'clock."

"Nine! Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Well, it's Saturday, so I slept in, and you looked pretty tired, so I didn't feel like it."

"The boys must be worried, no not worried, flooded with work. I need to get down there."

"Relax, Char – I mean, Dad, I'm sure they'll understand that you've been busy, uh, sleeping."

"I gotta go!"

"Which is something everyone needs," I said through gritted teeth.

He stood up and I saw that he hadn't even taken off his holster.

"See ya later Isabella."

I was just about to pour my milk when I watched him stumble towards the door. I vaguely wondered when he came back last night. I rushed towards the door and blocked his path.

"I don't have time for your games," he said exasperatedly.

"You're not leaving this house until you've had at least 8 hours of sleep. When did you get back?"

"Around 4. Why?"

"You're going back to work for another 20 hours on 5 hours of sleep? I don't think so."

"Bella..."

I pointed at the stairs, "Bed!"

He crumpled under my command and trudged up the stairs. This was almost funny as I was taking better care of him than he was. I suddenly felt sad at the thought. I watched him until I heard the bedroom door close and turned back towards my breakfast, it was only now that I noticed that the color of the cereal exactly match Jacob's eyes. My heart skipped a few beats and suddenly I was flooded with images of La Push beach.

I couldn't wait to go.

I wolfed down my cereal, made some finishing touches on my homework that wasn't due until next Wednesday, and began to clean house. All just to keep myself distracted until the afternoon arrived.

Every time I slowed my pace even a little bit, my heart would speed and so would I. I had to maintain control until I saw _him_. I just had to.

6 agonizing hours later, I climbed into my truck and started the drive down to La Push. I knew when I'd crossed into Quileute land because Seth could be seen in the shadows keeping pace with my truck in his wolf form. I couldn't help but feel that he was trying to tell me something. Victoria flickered across my memory. I shivered but quickly pushed it away.

I finally pulled into the beach's sandy parking lot, but before I could get out, I was instantly surrounded by wolves. Jake was in front of my truck with his front paws on my hood. Something was definitely wrong here. I was supposed to be meeting Jake for a romantic walk along the beach. I was, instead, meeting the entire pack for something else. I pulled my legs up to my chest and just sat like that for a bit as I watched the wolves turn their backs but continue to hold their positions.

Then I saw it.

The red hair. The cat-like gait.

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach and tasted bile in the back of my throat. Even if I backed out and drove away, Victoria would have no problem catching up to me, and breaking through my thin, glass windows.

I closed my eyes and just wished that she would go.

I heard growling ripple throughout the pack. One of them had clearly seen something new and was spreading the word. I didn't envy anyone who could hear the thoughts. The growling was escalating into semi-barks, and I opened my eyes just enough and what I saw made me faint.


	5. Confessions

I woke up inside a hollow log and the first thing I noticed was that my coat had been removed. It was cold in here. As I slowly came to, I noticed that the pack had moved away from me, but not far enough to where I couldn't hear them. I could hear the fight between the pack and Victoria's newborn army. The yelps and screams were stuff for nightmares.

I cupped my hands over my ears as hard as I could to block out the sound, but not before I heard, "Don't do that."

I turned around and saw Seth crouching at the far end of the log looking at me with the same look Jacob had used on me earlier when he was in wolf form.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," said Seth with a strong hint of worry in his voice. "Jake doesn't know why you're here. We were planning to finally head off Victoria when you showed up. It makes things a lot harder when she knows you're so close."

"I- Jake left a message on my nightstand."

"You know we hear all of each other's thoughts no matter what right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, don't you think it's a bit odd that none of us picked up on a nightstand letter?"

"Maybe he just wasn't thinking about it," I knew my argument was pathetic.

"Right, and maybe next time I'll turn into a Chihuahua instead of a wolf. It's easy to assume that when he saw you he would try to think about exactly what brought you here, and that's exactly what he did; no note ever crossed his mind."

"So how did it get there?"

"I can only guess, but it must've been planted to lure you here, so Victoria-" Seth stopped. He must've seen the look on my face when he said the word _lure_.

I tried to keep calm, "Why would a vampire plant a message without killing me?"

"Well, either they were very well fed, or wanted to wait for the fun."

"Okay, stop. I've heard enough."

"I'm only here to keep watch, and make sure you have someone to talk to when you wake up. You know, too young to fight, blah blah blah."

"Yeah," I snickered a little too hard at his blasé towards the battle.

"What did the message say?" asked Seth

"It said: I've gone back to the pack to further refine our plans. Meet up with me on La Push beach this afternoon?"

"It's funny, you know? _We_ were planning to ambush _her_. Looks like _somebody_ had to blab while in human form."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as you already know, we can only communicate with our thoughts while in wolf form. This gives us a huge advantage: Victoria can't hear us. But if one of us were to speak about the plans while in human form, well, you know vampire hearing; they can hear for miles."

"I wonder who it was."

"None of our pack is out to get us; broken loyalty is dealt with very severely, so it must've been carelessness," Seth clenched his teeth briefly.

"I wonder who was stupid enough to do that."

"Probably Paul. You know how carried away he gets when it's time to fight. He gets so pumped at times."

"Maybe. Hey, what did you do with my coat?"

"We used it to lead the vampires off track. I carried you here, they won't be able to smell you at all."

"Good."

"Quiet. Do you hear that?"

"Um, no."

"I'm gonna go wolf. Something's going down." And with that, I was all alone with my thoughts.

The first thing to haunt me was why Seth needed to turn wolf if he wasn't even allowed to fight. Something must be wrong. And second was why I was here. Some vampire planted a fake letter and led me here. What were they expecting? That I'd show up before the fight was scheduled to start?

I moved like lightning out of the log and retched. That thought hadn't occurred to me before. If I'd shown up even a few minutes earlier, I'd be dead and have already been drained of my life force of blood.

I nearly heaved again when I realized that, in order to plant a letter that close to my bed, they had to be that close to me, as well.

This was going all kinds of wrong. And I still don't know why Jacob left before I woke, but before I could ponder that, Seth returned as a human and delivered the news.


	6. The Aftermath

"It's over," he said. "Sam separated Victoria from her army and single-handedly took her down while the rest of us managed to take out the newborns. Their fighting was so sloppy, it's any wonder how they managed to injure any of us. Jacob's on his way."

My head wasn't working right. The only word that caught my attention was _injure_. "Who was injured?"

"Leah and Paul, but they'll be okay. Just a couple of scratches. Nothing to worry about."

"And Jake?"

"Bella, quit worrying. He held his own and is perfectly fine. I'll tell you this though: he can't wait to tell you about his part of the fight." Seth looked over his shoulder, "Oh, here he comes now."

"Bells!"

"Jake!" I ran over to greet him in a tight embrace and gave him the once over; exactly as Seth had promised, Jacob had no wounds whatsoever.

"Seth told me everything you told him. I hate to say it, but I did leave a note on your nightstand about meeting with the pack, but I wrote no invitation. The vampire must've added to it. Damn bloodsuckers."

"Is it true?" I whispered "Is Victoria really gone?"

"Yes, Bella. I saw it in Sam's head. I watched him clamp down on her throat. I watched her fall. She won't be bothering us anymore."

I could tell he was holding back some of the more gruesome details for my sake and I was glad for that.

"But enough about that. Do you wanna hear what I did?"

I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but at the same time, I didn't want to have nightmares about my Jake risking his life for me.

"Okay, shoot," I decided.

"So there I was in the middle of a standoff between Leah and this vampire chick. I knew it wasn't going to end well. Can you say catfight?" He chuckled at his lame joke.

I smiled weakly.

"I watched for a little bit and waited to see if Leah needed any help. Of course, she heard my 'allegedly' offensive plan and kept telling me to back off and chase someone else, but you know me: Can't leave a good fight."

"Why didn't you take her advice?"

"Well, right after she said that, I saw her confidence waver and that's when I decided to step in. The biggest problem with being fast is that you're usually not very strong. She needed me."

I winced at the word _needed_.

"I'm sorry, I meant to say that she was slipping so I stepped in to pick up the slack. In no time at all, we took care of the leech."

"Is that all?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"_Unfortunately_?"

"Well, yes. By the time our little scuffle was over, Sam had already taken out Victoria and the others had killed most of the rest of the army. There was little left for us to do."

Trying not to dwell too much on the word _kill_, I asked, "Now when you say most of..."

"I mean there were one or two others left, but by the time they realized that, it was a done deal. They surrendered their lives and gave up the game."

"Why would you kill them if they surrendered?"

"We are vampire hunters, Bella," he said with finality as if it should never be questioned.

I didn't argue.

"So your scuffle," I changed the topic, "it lasted as long as the battle?"

"Not quite. See, we already had a plan to break up any groups larger than 3 and it worked out beautifully, but, as with most battle plans, something went wrong. While I was splitting up a pair so me and Embry could have fun chasing one down each, it was at the last second that I realized I was sending my vampire straight to Leah who was patiently waiting for a certain command. The fact that it never came was a very good thing because this vampire was a lot stronger than I'd given her credit for."

"What was Leah waiting for?"

"The command to howl."

I was bewildered.

"Only she can howl at a certain frequency that hurts the bloodsuckers' ears. It's a beautiful distraction. If things got out of hand, she'd howl and keep the leeches in check and we'd be free to take them down. It's a damn good thing they never did because what I did would've made it impossible for her to fulfill her duties.

"Overall, I'd say the army was way weaker than we anticipated with a few exceptions, of course."

"This is all very fascinating. Can I have my coat back?"

I was so engrossed in Jacob's tale, that it took a decent conclusion before I realized I was shivering violently.

"Oh right. Quil!"

"What!" Quil said from several yards away.

"What'd ya do with Bella's coat?"

"Nothing bad. I'll just go get it, shall I?"

"Yes, you shall," Jacob turned to me as I watched Quil's receding figure. "Don't worry, he'll be back. Hey, when he gets back, you wanna go to my place?"

"I've never wanted to be in a house more than right now."

We waited a full 10 minutes before Quil came back in wolf form with my jacket hanging from his mouth. He opened it and I quickly put it on, unreasonably hoping that it still had some of my body heat. No surprise that it didn't.

He retreated into a bush and reemerged as a human. "I forgot where I put it. Sorry for the wait."

"Whatever," said Jake, "Let's go."

We all began walking towards the neighborhood. Jacob and I put our arms around each other and I looked at him like he was a god. At that very moment, if you'd asked me, I wouldn't have hesitated to tell you that Jake would take a bullet for me anytime.


End file.
